Fourth Filming Session 25th October 2011

Today we managed to book some time in the studio with one of the technicians who assisted us with the professional equipment. So far Kwame has struggled with lip syncing every lyric as Professor Green has a very fast and tight flow, something that Kwame unfortunately does not possess. However, today he was on point and didn't miss a word. We shot him using three high grade cameras which is a very different experience from using a small hand-held digital camera. We had seen previous attempt by past groups at using the studio effectively but none seemed to utilise lighting in the studio successfully. We spent a long time experimenting with different lighting angles until the shots were perfect for our video. After viewing the shots back we are all very pleased with our efforts.

Third filming session, 19th October 2011

Today we embarked on our third filming session working in around Manchester city centre. We started off in Hulme filming under the Mancunian way in an underpass that bosts some fantastic graffiti (pictured right). We wanted to use this underpass our video as it fits the urban theme of our song. After we finished shooting there we moved on toward the centre of town, specifically focusing on Deansgate and a particularly beautiful area around the canal. Although the rain fell throughout the day we still managed to shoot some decent footage and overall the day was a success.

Second Filming Session 17th October 2011

Today was our second filming session and we made the small journey down the road from College to the beautiful Alexandra Park. From this particular session we wanted to get some shots of Kwame walking away down the long, wide tree-lined avenues which are a feature of the park. Fortunately the Indian summer has delayed the onset of Autumn so there is still plenty of greenery on the trees. We wanted to try to suggest that Professor Green visits this park to get away from the urban environment, to have some respite. It was quite a successful day filming in the park. We were filming for around two hours which gave us plenty  of time to get the shots we needed.

First Filming Session 16th October 2011

Today was our first filming session and we decided to use our time wisely, as on Sundays we are all free, and go out filming in the furthest location which is Salford Quays. Although Salford will not be the first location to appear in the video we feel confident enough to film in a non chronological order and arrange our shots to fit our shot list at a later date. No one in the group had been out filming since their AS year and it felt great to go out again like a proper film crew and shoot some great shots. Manchester isn't known for thirty degree heat, even at the best of times, and we did return home a little bit damp. However, this couldn't put a dampener on our spirits as we managed to get some great shots that will no doubt be used later on when we start the editing process.

Final Costume Plans/Ideas Used. Styled by Kwame.

Album advert analysis - Plan B

This is another album advert we have selected is for Plan B's album 'The defamation of Strickland banks'. This adverts is particularly effective as it has a simple color scheme. It uses a pitch black background, white and red for text and the image of plan B is in black and white. These colours work well together as the red letters 'Plan B' stand out more and seem more eye catching to the audience. It is the largest text on the advert, this brings attention to his name and immediately tells the audience who it is. In addition, the album name 'The defamation of Strickland banks' is in a smaller size, however it is in white, this stands out similarly to his name as the black background exaggerates the white even more. Another feature of this album advert is that the album title is written so each word is below another. This is effective as each word is isolated so it seems to have more significance. Furthermore, the artists name and album title are in bold. This suggests that its main target audience it male, as bold and the color red is very masculine.
The image used is of the artist 'Plan B'. The effect on it is black and white, this gives and older atmosphere to the advert. There are other elements contributing this effect such as, his clothing and the type of microphone he is using. The microphone he is using looks like the beyerdynamic microphone used in the 1970's, this implies he is going for an old fashioned look. He is wearing a smart suit which suggests he is wealthy and powerfull, his facial expression contributes to this image as he is posing a very serious expression. We intend to use some of the elements used in plan b's album advert in ours.

Album advert analysis - Imran Khan

For this analysis we have looked at the magazine advert for Imran Khans album 'Unforgettable'. There are multiple images of the same shot, Imran khan. However they are all different angles separated by black bold vertical lines. This is eye catching to a viewer as it is quite interesting because all the pictures are initially the same but each one is dynamically different. For example, the width of the pictures is not the same, some are wide and others are slim. In addition, the advert has Imran khans face is at different levels in each of the pictures which also gives the advert more depth.
Another feature of the advert is his clothing and colors used. He is wearing a bright blue hoody with a white and red zip, these colors stand out even more as there is a black background which bring out the bright colors and his face. This illuminates his image further as he is the only image you can see and he stands out. Furthermore, he is waring very dark glasses that entirely cover up his eyes give and give a sense of mystery.
Another key feature to this magazine advert is the fonts, words and sizes used. His name is in the large size, bold and white. All there elements make his name stand out and be the most eye popping words on the advert. Right below his name there is the album name, 'Unforgettable'. This is in a similar size, however the letters are not bold, but as the color of the letters are in white it also stands out in contrast to the black background. The rest of the texts have the same color but the album release date is in a bigger size than Imran khans website.
We hope to use similar conventions in our album cover.

Costume plans/initial ideas

After discussing and brainstorming ideas about how we want to style Kwame in order to play the 'Professor Green' role, it soon became clear that buying a new wardrobe of clothing would not be necessary. Fortunately between us we have all the clothing that will be needed to create the hip-hop/grime superstar 'Professor Green'. To make Kwame look clearly identifiable as a hip-hop artist we will have him wearing clothes that can be considered as fitting the 'urban' look.

Kwame will consistently wear a pair of dark jeans similar to the one pictured left. Dark 'baggy' jeans are definately considered as part of the fashion for the UK hip-hop/grime scene and suit Kwame well which is also important. We don't want our main actor to look out of place as a hip-hop artist.

He will also be seen in come shots wearing a purple cap, a style that is heavily endorsed by the hip-hop/grime scene.










A black coat similar to this one will also be styled by Kwame in our video. Growing up in Urban areas, like most hip-hop/grime artists do, can be rough and the aim isn't to gain everyone's attention at all times. This is why many young people in these areas choose to dress in black and will help viewers to establish him as a hip-hop artist in the video.


We still need to establish what other clothing Kwame will be wearing when we go out filming in the coming weeks.

Video influences

We have mainly for the "Goodnight" music video been looking at british music videos for influence and ideas. And we have not been dissapointed with the aspects we have been able to take from them. The videos we have been influenced by, all have Urban themes and modern present day suroundings,which are mostly within cities or on the outskirts.

Film technique is one of the main ways the videos have infuenced us, by the way the camera uses its suroundings to represent the protagonist as for example the main person in the video.

Not only by it just pointing at the protagonist but also from diffrent angles and for example rotating the protagonist. One other thing we have certainly been influenced by is how the protagonist uses his body language to exspress what the song is aout and in that way really connecting with the song. The costumes have really given us a lot of tips and ideas as well, like in sinceres video "aint nobody like you" the way the protagonist is dressed shows that he is in his own and comfortable environment, which reflects his confidence and shows that he's the main man in the video. Most importantly these videos have really influenced our shot list and the shots we are planning to use for our video production for example the ECU and MCU shots that are used to show the person lip syncing. We have a sample of, some of videos that have influenced our ideas and use of techniques and how. JUST SCROLL DOWN!!

1. In The Air (feat. Professor Green & Maverick Sabre)

2. Take That - Greatest Day

3.SINCERE - 'AIN'T NOBODY LIKE YOU' ( OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO )

4.Phaeleh - Afterglow feat Soundmouse [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

CD Cover Research and plans of "Goodnight"

Album/CD cover: Alive till i'm Dead, Professor Green origin of "Goodnight"

This is the the CD cover of professor Greens album "Alive till i'm dead" the same artist and album that the song we are going to use for our media production comes from. However when it comes to the explaining of the CD over for the song we will be giving it a theme that has a connection with the song which is "Goodnight". Though we have not been influenced by the professor Greens CD cover we have certainly have been influenced by others which are in a different genre style and vision.

Album/CD cover: F.A.M.E, Chris Brown

This Album cover we really like, due to the protagonist being right in the middle of the cover and his life's situations surounding him. The colors we also like very much with the visual and eye catching effect it has, however we think we will be using far more darker colors so it has more of a connection with the song. Just like here Chris Browns Album, FAME it both has happy and jubilant songs and at the same time has emotional and sad songs this shown through the dark parts of the album covers. and this is what we are going to use to show what "Goodnight is all about and what it represents. So the use of colors will be very fundamental to our CD cover because of this.

Album/CD Cover: Bud, sweat and beers, Devlin

The cover of Bud, sweat and beers has helped us to understand how the protagonist can use his/her body language to show what what the album/ CD is about and how it relates to them. Because body language can show for example the origin of the protagonist and as a whole what his life and world is about. Which is very important to the genre it is representing and for example the classes of society which is in this case the working class, due to the way he is stood against a old brick wall looking into the distance, like he is thinking about the future. So thats how this album/Cd cover has influenced us and enlarged our options on the actual creation of the Album/Cd cover for "Goodnight"

S.O. "So It Begins" Video analysis

"So it begins" fits into the same rap genre as "Goodnight",  but it also fits into the Gospel genre. The reason we picked this video is the theme, which has influenced our plans and ideas on how to make our video. With the lights, the urban vibe and the range of shots used like MCU and ECU and especially long shots featuring not just the protagonist but the surroundings, these are the techniques we are trying to put into our plans and hopefully the video.

Shot list - 50 seconds to 1.55

1) Medium shot of Kwame on Market St. stood against a wall or lamp post.
2) Panning shot which first shows Kwame walking through Ancoats down the canal, then switches to Deansgate then to Alex Park or Salford Quays. This is a continuous shot.
3) Kwame in the studio at the mic. line 5
4) "Agreed we all have choices but mine limited mostly by my decisions" - find in graffiti
5) Kwame again in the studio. line 7
6) "I'd a lived life different"- looking over the bridge in Salford Quays. Medium long shot side on. 

7) "I'd be a different me" - same location turn to the other side close up on Kwame's face, very emotive.
8) "but I didn't so this is me!" - very emotive, Kwame pushes away from the bridge and shouts this out to the heavens.
9) "Me, in my position what would you have done? Would you of done what I did? Am I what you would of become?" - Camera tracks away from Kwame, he follows looking straight into the camera. Location either Deansgate or Alex Park.
10) " My guess, my guess" - The first part of this line will be spelt out using magnetic letters while the latter part will be a close up of Kwame lip syncing the words.
11) "...is you would of succumb like i did" - An over the shoulder close up shot of Kwame will be used here.
12) “The decision was mine” – In the studio

13) “but I was too young an' I picked the wrong path, I went the wrong way.” ???

14) “Left school then got the grade” – Camera moves round the back of Kwame as he says this, location dale st.

15) “banged it out, got my pape's.” – extreme close up of Kwame lip syncing this.

16) “Stacked my p's copped a cake” - Camera tracks away from Kwame, he follows looking straight into the camera. Location either Deansgate or Alex park.

17) “I'm holding weight now” – graffiti

18) “made a brick of a ounce an' aint been in the jail house.” Camera tracks away from Kwame, he follows looking straight into the camera. Location either Deansgate or Alex Park. Or, find pictures of a jail house, something a bit new.

19) “I intend on staying free” – Medium long shot of Kwame, his back to the side of an old factory in Ancoats, arms out stretched.

20) “free for me don't mean free from stress.” – Showing the back of Kwame looking out over the canal at dale street or Salford.

21) “Lay in bed but I aint asleep” – In studio

Shot list - first 50 seconds

Up until the vocals drop into the track Kwame will be stood, head down, hood up nodding along to the track.

1) Long shot of Kwame accross the canal in the old industrial part of Ancoats
2) Then a medium shot, side on.
3) Location then switches to near Dale Street, showing Kwame looking out over the canal.
4) Then showing Kwame stood on Market St. head down as people pass by.
5) Location switches to steps on Deansgate, medium shot of Kwame sat head bowed.
6) Switches to a side close up of Kwame's face on the steps.
7) Then switches to a medium long shot from behind.
8) Location then changes to a bench in Alex Park, medium shot of Kwame sat.
9) Location switches to in the studio at college showing a close up of Kwame (in monochrome) stood at the mic, sunglasses on.
10) Long shot of kwame sat head still bowed, on the side of the canal.
11) Location switch to the middle of the fields in Alexandra Park, Kwame arms out streched head up looking towards the heavens.
12) 0.37 the drums drop in and Kwame stands up from a bench in Alex Park and walks out of shot.
13) Location switches to Salford Quays bridge, medium shot of Kwame's back as he walks away from the camera.
14) Kwame comes back in shot walking across the bridge at Salford Quays hood up still, panning/tracking shot used as he walks past.

Professor Green: Biography

Professor Green was born Stephen Paul Manderson on the 27 November 1983. He was raised in Hackney London by his grandmother from the age of one due to a turbulent relationship he had with both parents. His father, Peter, committed suicide in 2008 in Brentwood, Essex. Manderson has stated previously he feels his father's death has made him a better person, saying: "I'd had a turbulent relationship with my dad. He was always in and out of my life and I was raised by my grandmother Patricia. Mum, who had me at 16, was there for the most part but my grandmother was the most influential. I last saw my dad alive on my 18th birthday. He came over to see me but after that we just stopped talking. There was no real reason. He hanged himself and I had to go and identify the body in the morgue."

Manderson grew up on a council estate which he claims has made him a better person. He said he "fell in to rapping accidentally" when he was at a party at a friend's house, where everyone was free-styling, he was put on the spot and he said it worked for him. He took this up as a hobby regularly going to freestyle rap battles at a night called 'LyricPad'. After a short but successful time as a free style MC, Manderson was spotted by Mike Skinner from 'The Streets' who quickly signed Manderson to his record label, 'The Beats'.

During his time at Skinner's label Manderson didn't produce any material and on the 12th February 2006 'The Beats' record label went under leaving Green filled with contempt. When asked now about his time on the label his words are never complimentary. In 2008 green won ₤50.000 from the jumpoff Myspace challenge. With this money Green went on to record 'The Green' EP. Shortly after this Manderson enjoyed a tour with Lilly Allen which enhanced his name greatly, allowing him to gain better name recognition. "Alive Till Im Dead" Manderson's debut album was released on 20th July 2010 peaking at #2 in the British album chart. His follow up album, "At Your Inconvenience" was released on 2nd October 2011.

CD Cover ideas

1
Front panel - close up of kwame's face/title of album
Back panel - back of head/looking into the view (significant)
Inside/CD(disc) - brain
Bar code, song list on CD and back of case.

2
Front side-Kwame (green screen)/title of album
Backside of case - significant urban location/buildings
Inside/CD - photo shopped image with list of songs
Inside right - picture of urban location with kwame

3
Front side - low angle shot of kwame (casual clothes)
Backside of case-night sky/moon. dark lighting
Inside Right - close up of half of kwame's face
Inside Left - Green screen image, kwame.

Kanye West Touch The Sky ft. Lupe Fiasco Video Analysis

Again this song falls into the hip-hop/rap genre, similar to our song 'Goodnight'. However, this analysis differs from our other analysis of Devlins, 'London City', because this song has been produced by an American artist who has international aclaim. Consequently, the budget of this video far outweighs that of 'London City' and it's interesting to see how much the quality of the video changes when you have far less financial backing.

In this video kanye portrays himself as being quite arrogant. This video was directed by Chris Milk and filmed as a '70s style short movie about daredevil Evel Kanyevil and his attempt to fly a small rocket across the Grand Canyon (a parody of Evel Knievel's unsuccessful jump across the Snake River Canyon in 1974) In addition, there are ‘star’ appearances in this video such as Pamela Anderson who plays the role of Kanye’s controversial girlfriend. This promotes the video greatly as she is popular and very glamorous. This also goes to highlight the stark difference in finance between US hip-hop stars and UK hip-hop stars as it is very unlikely that a UK hip-hop video would feature the likes of Pamela Anderson. There is also some handheld camerawork, which gives the effect of someone actually being at the scene. The lip-syncing is very effective and seamless, there are parts where the words are delivered as if they were in a conversation, like a TV program. The colouring has been changed to give the video a nostalgic effect. The video also has very bright lighting, which reflects the message of the song as being happy and joyful. Almost every shot is of kanye, highlighting the fact that he is the star and the centre of attention; there are many mid and high angle shots of kanye alone in the clouds, which is a reference to the title of the song “touch the sky’ and makes him look superior. In addition, there are many high angle shots when hes sizing up his jump, this promotes the scenery, mise-en scene and could suggest that hes looking down on himself from the clouds. There is also an extreme long/vertical tilt shot before he performs his stunt, which suggests something will go wrong, also is when Kanye says ‘for the day I die’ there is a close up of his rocket, showing us that that something is going to go disastrously wrong later on. Later, when the plane crashes there is a mid shot of his plane crashing in a dramatic fashion into the gorge fulfilling the prophecy. Another effective feature of the video is that the editing is cut to the beat which makes the video seem much more upbeat and joyous.

The Origins of Grime

Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London in the early 2000's primarily as a development of UK garage, hip-hop and dancehall. Pioneers of the style include Dizzee Rascal, Newham Generals and Wiley. In the beginning it was primarily on pirate radio and stations such as Deja Vu Fm, Freeze 92.7 & MajorFm.com were essential to the evolution of the genre. At this point the style was known by number of names, including "8-bar" (meaning 8 bar verse patterns), "Nu Shape" (which encouraged more complexed 16 bar and 32 bar verse patterns), "Sublow" (a reference to the very low bassline frequencies, often around 40 Hz). This indicated the movement of UK Garage away from its House influences towards darker themes and sounds. Among the first tracks to be labelled "Grime" as a genre in itself were 'Eskimo' by Wiley and "Pulse X" by Musical Mob.

The first grime artists to recieve some wide sacel attention, especially from the media, were Dizzee Rascal and Wiley with the 2003-4 albums 'Boy In Da Corner' and 'Treddin on Thin Ice'. Dizzee Rascal garnered broad critical acclaim and commercial success with 'Boy In Da Corner' winning the 2003 Mercury Music Prize. Grime has received exposure from television stations including Channel AKA (formerely Channel U) as well as from radio stations like BBC 1Extra that was created for the growing 'urban' style of music that would soon be sent around the world.

As time has progresses Grime has become more and more widespread in popularity, and today there are thousands of young artist making their own grime tracks as a hobby, they then post the tracks on various websites such as Facebook, Youtube and Soundcloud to gain exposure. This genre shows no signs of slowing down on it's take over of the mainstream and break through into the world markets.